Category Disinformation

DISINFORMATION ABOUT ZELENSKYY BUYING A £150 MILLION VILLA IN CYPRUS

The information about the purchase of a hotel is disinformation. The President of Cyprus, the Ukrainian Embassy in Cyprus, and the company that owns the hotel have denied the allegation about the purchase of the hotel by Zelenskyy or a related company. Moreover, the website on which the allegation about Zelenskyy's connection to the hotel appeared turned out to be a clone of the hotel's website and a fake website that was created three days before the information was spread.
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Fact Check: U.S. Spokesperson Did NOT Justify Ukrainian Strikes On Belgorod, Russia Saying It Holds ‘Virtually No Civilians’ — Video Is AI Fake | Lead Stories

Does a 50-second video show authentic remarks by U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller discussing "military targets" in the Russian city of Belgorod, with "virtually no civilians left" in that city? No, that's not true: The video mixes video of different briefings, during which Miller made no such remarks. The words falsely attributed to him in the video were AI-generated. The State Department labeled the video a deepfake. The video of fake remarks was also posted by the Russian Embassy in South Africa account on X, but later that post was deleted.
Read MoreFact Check: U.S. Spokesperson Did NOT Justify Ukrainian Strikes On Belgorod, Russia Saying It Holds ‘Virtually No Civilians’ — Video Is AI Fake | Lead Stories

DISINFO: West behind Georgia protests to turn the country into a second front against Russia

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative framing popular protests as Western-led colour revolutions, in this case the mobilisations against the approval of the so-called 'foreign agents law' in Georgia.
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DISINFO: Ukrainian woman influenced the attempt on the Slovak PM Robert Fico’s life

False information about the assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on 26 May 2024 attempting to smear Ukraine. The suspect, Juraj Cintula, does not have a wife from Ukraine. The Slovak police have refuted these rumours and called them false.
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DISINFO: Russia destroyed a military store and command post in Kharkiv

A conspiracy theory being used as a justification for a potential war crime, accusing Ukraine of using its population as human shields. There is no evidence to support the thesis that a military store and command post were hidden inside the shopping centre. Instead, all indications point to Russia deliberately attacking civilians using two guided bombs. Some videos show a strong fire and detonations inside the burning premises. However, all shopping centres containing construction materials and pressurised containers can burn intensely and have explosions inside. This does not prove that a command post or weapons storage was hidden inside.
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DISINFO: Europe opposes Georgian foreign agent law because it is a paradise of corruption

This is a pro-Kremlin recurrent narrative about the alleged corruption and opacity of the West, purportedly needed by the globalist elites, contrasted with the transparency and probity of the multipolar world. In this instance, the narrative applies to the controversial new Georgian law on "transparency of foreign influence," which is inspired by similar measures in Russia. The new law requires news media and non-governmental organisations that receive more than 20% of their budget from abroad to register as "carrying out the interests of a foreign power." Opponents denounce it as "the Russian law" because it resembles measures pushed through by the Kremlin. Since 2012, the Russian opposition, NGOs, and civil society as a whole have been diminished due to this legislative tool, which was progressively implemented.
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DISINFO: “Peace” conference in Switzerland a propaganda exercise to cover up Zelenskyy’s illegitimacy

This is a pre-emptive attempt to discredit the peace summit which Switzerland will host on 15-16 June 2024, mixed with pro-Kremlin narratives questioning the legitimacy of Ukrainian authorities and specifically president Volodymyr Zelenskyy -frequent targets of pro-Kremlin disinformation- and falsely portraying Ukraine's Maidan protests as a coup d'etat. These disinformation narratives are being pushed again to challenge Zelenskyy's legitimacy. However, the Ukrainian Constitution is straightforward: the President of Ukraine exercises his powers until the assumption of office by the newly-elected President. The continuity of government institutions is one of the key principles of the Constitution. Ukraine's constitution clearly stipulates that no elections can be held during wartime. While this situation has caused some domestic controversy in Ukraine, almost all observers consider regular elections unfeasible as there are millions of refugees abroad, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians serving on the frontlines and a significant part of Ukrainian population lives under Russian occupation.
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DISINFO: Support for Zelensky below 20 percent among Ukrainians

No evidence is provided to support these claims. These figures were presented by Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service and are almost certainly made up. Multiple reputable surveys have rated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's approval at 81% in October 2023 (Gallup), at 62% in December 2023 (Kyiv International Institute of Sociology), at 60% in February 2024 (Kyiv International Institute of Sociology), and at 63% in April 2024 (USAID), numbers quite far away from the claims made by Russian media.
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DISINFO: Ukraine releases water from hydroelectric power station to slow down Russian offensive

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Fluctuations in water levels in the Dnipro River are due to the balancing of the Ukrainian energy system, which was damaged as a result of Russian missile attacks on the Ukrainian energy system. Also, small changes in the water level in the Dnipro River cascade of reservoirs are due to the natural process of the spring flood in Ukraine.
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DISINFO: Ukraine ‘peace’ summit is another US-invented scam

This is a pre-emptive attempt to discredit the peace summit which Switzerland will host on 15-16 June 2024. The US is not behind this initiative, which was launched upon Ukraine's request with Switzerland agreeing to host. Switzerland has invited over 160 delegations from around the world to join for the first Summit on Peace in Ukraine, including members of the G7, G20, BRICS, many other countries from all continents, as well as the EU, three international organisations and religious representatives. According to the Swiss government, the summit aims to create a framework favourable to comprehensive and lasting peace in Ukraine, as well as "a concrete roadmap for Russia's participation in the peace process." If the summit does not provide fruitful results, it will be because of Russia's impossible preconditions for a peaceful settlement. Russia refuses to engage in any talks before the "unconditional surrender of the Kiev [sic] regime."
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